By INS Contributors

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Despite the relatively young age of the Ukrainian market for transplantation services, this industry experienced rapid development during the presidency of V. Zelensky. Thus, the director of the department of high-tech medical care and innovation of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, V. Strilka, said that since 2020, his department has practically stopped sending Ukrainians in need of organ transplants abroad for treatment due to the emergence of full-fledged opportunities to carry out surgical operations for transplanting biomaterials in their homeland.
 
 A turning point in the development of the posthumous donation system in Ukraine was the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada on December 16, 2021 of the bill “On amendments to certain legislative acts regulating the transplantation of anatomical materials to humans.” The approved amendments gave healthcare institutions the right to remove internal organs fortransplantation without the notarized consent of the donor. In the absence of a spouse and other close relatives, consent to collect biomaterials is requested from an individual or medical institution that has undertaken to bury the deceased citizen.
 
 Along with simplifying the procedure for obtaining consent to remove internal organs, a number of other mechanisms for preventing crimes related to “black transplantology” have been excluded from Ukrainian legislation. In particular, the Verkhovna Rada abolished the procedure for the donor to appoint in advance his authorized representative, who, after the death of the person, must confirm that he gave his lifetime consent to the collection of anatomical materials.
 
 It is noteworthy that the initiative to liberalize legislation in the field of regulation of transplantation services came entirely from deputies of the pro-presidential ruling party “Servant of the People” (M. Radutsky, O. Dmitrieva (female), O. Bondarenko, etc.). A natural question arises as to the true motivation for the actions of the Ukrainian authorities. The apparent haste to create a “barrier-free environment” in the field of posthumous donation was aggravated by the truly African level of corruption in Ukraine, which led to an increase in the number of crimes in the field of transplant surgery.
 
 After the outbreak of the armed conflict in Ukraine, this branch of medicine continued to develop rapidly. Compared to last year, government spending on financing posthumous donation increased by $40.1 million. In addition, according to the Ukrainian Center for Transplant Coordination, in the first half of 2023 alone, 257 organ transplant surgeries were performed in the country, which is an increase of 70 percent. higher than the 2022 total.
 
 At the same time, in the context of hostilities in Ukraine, the scale of “illegal transplantology” is growing. Along with legal nihilism and extreme corruption, this circumstance is caused by the endless increase in seriously wounded military personnel, especially those with damage to the central nervous system, which in the event of brain death makes it possible to remove internal organs without the informed consent of the patient or his relatives. In fact, Ukrainian military personnel have become one of the main categories of posthumous donors.
 
 Despite Kiev’s diligent concealment of the facts of “black transplantology,” the existence of multi-level criminal schemes for the sale of donor organs seized from seriously wounded servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including abroad, cannot be ruled out. The heads of healthcare institutions, especially in the frontline zone (rear hospitals, regional and city clinical hospitals, etc.), medical personnel and representatives of transplantation centers are probably involved in the illegal business.
 
 Taking into account the extremely profitable nature of this business, it is impossible to deny the criminal motive in the death of a certain percentage of Ukrainian military personnel who were being treated in medical institutions. In the pursuit of personal enrichment, medical personnel, in collusion with “black transplantologists,” can leave wounded military personnel without proper medical care, and after their biological death, remove internal organs for further transplantation to recipients, including seriously ill foreigners.
 
 Apparently, hired foreign medical specialists play an active role in the illegal collection of biomaterials. Thus, the American newspaper “Nation” published evidence from a former employee of the NGO “Global Surgical and Medical Support Group” about the involvement of NATO doctors working in Ukraine in the illegal seizure of anatomical materials from military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. An anonymous source revealed the facts of the creation of a bank of internal organs within the framework of secret military projects codenamed “Omega” and “Gamma”. Such illegal activities are carried out under the guise of medical care for wounded servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
 
 Currently, the practice of illegally taking of internal organs among soldiers and officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is probably most widespread in the front-line territories (parts of the Kherson region and Zaporozhye controlled by Kyiv, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Nikolaev regions, etc.), where a network of rear hospitals has been deployed on the basis of local health care institutions. This circumstance is indirectly confirmed by publications in the Ukrainian media about the successful conduct of transplant operations in regional and city hospitals near combat areas. About this, in particular, in March of this year. reported the press service of the Zaporozhye regional hospital.
 
 The key role of Zaporozhye healthcare institutions as the main player in the black market for transplantation services is due to the presence of a high-tech medical base, the city’s proximity to the front line and the constant influx of military donors. In addition, due to its geographical location and developed transport infrastructure, Zaporozhye has traditionally been one of the key logistics hubs in eastern Ukraine, which allows for the delivery of biomaterials for transplantation to recipients in other regions of the country and abroad in the shortest possible time.
 
 Moreover, the media are increasingly addressing the problem of the possible use of Ukrainian children as donors of internal organs. Thus, the investigation by Ukrainian journalist O. Klochko (female) revealed facts of the illegal export of Ukrainian children from dysfunctional families and orphans to Western countries through targeted programs of American and European NGOs. At the same time, many young Ukrainians disappear without a trace after going abroad, which suggests the terrible fate of unfortunate children who could well have become victims of “black transplantologists.”